


The Price of Freedom

by SansPeridot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Mainly Jaspidot, Multi, Some of the characters 'aint human though, There's gonna be other stuff in here too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9277637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansPeridot/pseuds/SansPeridot
Summary: The world has changed, even if nobody remembers now. Beach City has a secret sleeping beneath it and it's growing restless. If it finally wakes up, everything will disappear. Thankfully, there are a few unlikely "heroes" that might just be able to stop it. Peridot, we're all counting on you! Oh, and Jasper too.





	1. Hard To Believe

**Author's Note:**

> Yo~ I decided to finally go for it and start pushing out chapters for this Jaspidot story I've had bouncing around in my skull for the past few months. I'm hoping that forcing myself to steadily create content of some kind will help me out of a writer's block that's keeping my other story on hold for now. If you like it, let me know! If you don't like, LET ME KNOW<3 This will be a test more than anything else, but I'd still love to at least make something people can enjoy. It's gonna get fluffy, it's gonna get sad and it might even have a happy ending. Maybe.

A long, long time ago the world was engulfed in suffering. Humanity spilled so much blood that the planet became stained red and they were drowning in their own hatred and sadness. Until, one day, four Lights descended upon Earth.

Each Light brought with it a gift that would transform humanity. A brave White Light brought an end to Fear, an understanding Blue Light rid the world of Sorrow, a calm Yellow Light cleansed all Anger, and gentle Pink Light bestowed Love to each human. With these newfound gifts, humanity reached heights never before thought possible. The day when humans might join the Lights in the Sky seemed close at hand.

However, some humans grew disatisfied with their lives. They craved even greater power and control over the world. Their intense greed drove them to attack the Pink Light in an attempt to claim It's power over the heart. The selfish humans were stopped by Swords that protected each Light, but their actions had sown distrust and suspicion.

The White and Yellow Lights lost faith in humanity, calling them a mistake that required correcting. They began creating new life they believed should inherit the Earth from the selfish and callous humans.

The Pink Light, in It's neverending love, forgave humanity for the actions of those heartless few. It knew that there was still so much potential for good within them and that destroying them would be a terrible mistake. Due to the close bond between them, the Blue Light sided with the Pink Light. Together, they defended the world from their comrades.

A Great and Horrible War followed that saw all but one Light extinguished. The final Light sought shelter within the planet, biding It's time until It could awake and enact vengeance on humanity.

The Lights' Swords were scattered and lost without their masters. Without a being to serve, they were reduced to simple stones. They would remain asleep, until a strong soul could rouse them from their slumber...  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"You still believe in fairy tales like that?"

A slightly nasally voice responded to the story with abundant skepticism.

"Every fairy tale has roots somewhere in reality, Peridot. It just takes a sharp mind to uncover exactly where that connection exists!" 

The energetic tone of Peridot's boss reverberated throughout the small building the two stood in.

Sighing, Peridot rested her chin on the countertop in front of her. Working here with her long time friend, Ronaldo Fryman, could get a little tiresome. The guy just had so much enthusiasm for the paranormal that keeping up proved to be a tall order. It wasn't like she DIDN'T have an interest in that kind of stuff, but where Ronaldo got into a frenzy over five leaf clovers, Peridot only cared about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. You know, gray aliens with big eyes and even bigger heads.

As it stood, aliens were as far into the occult as Peridot felt the need to delve. Instead, she preferred poking holes in each of Ronaldo's numerous theories and conspiracies. The latest coming from a tattered leatherbound book some elderly man had pawned in their shop last week. Peridot had never seen the guy before, but then again, she didn't get out much. He hadn't swapped just the book in for some cash, but had thrown in another item as well. An oddly shaped, orange and yellow gemstone. It was large enough to barely fit in her palm with a cut that left it an asymmetrical diamond, the bottom half much shorter than the top.

When Ronaldo had questioned the man on the item's origins and why he seemed so desperate to get rid of them, the white haired man had simply started laughing. The mere sound of it had made Peridot extremely uncomfortable. She'd only heard a sound like it once, at the Beach City Zoo. For a short time there had been an exhibit on hyenas, but the animals' maddening maughter had driven away a lot of their business, forcing the owners to remove them. Peridot didn't miss them.

The geezer had managed to squeeze out a few words through his tittering though, "Bad luck" and "It talked to me." Stuff like that registered as OMINOUS on Peridot's patened Creep-O-Meter, but to say her boss was thrilled at the prospect of cursed items finding a home in his antique store would've been a catastrophic understatement.

Haggling the price had been easy enough, the wrinkled man accepted a measly $50 for both objects with wizened hands. Satisfied that his problems were someone else's to deal with, he had merrily waltzed out of the store and out of their lives.

Since then, Ronaldo had poured over every page in the book, of which there were several clearly missing. The volume was filled with countless stories similar to the first, all dealing with apocalyptic events of some kind. There were even hand drawn pictures to accompany most of the text. If the subject matter wasn't so morbid and bleak, Peridot would be tempted to call the book a work of art. In his excitement Ronaldo had lost track of time and when he'd eventually finished recounting the opening paragraphs to his less-than-thrilled employee, the shop was due to close in a few hours.

Peridot made a show of checking her watch and pulled her mouth into a surprised "O" when she saw the time.

"Ronaldo, didn't you have a thing you were supposed to get ready for?" 

Enthusiasm had never been so easy to fake.

A split second of confusion flashed across his lightly bearded face before realization dawned with the crack of a whip. 

"Oh no! The bus for "The Convention" leaves in an hour!" 

The destination's name emphasized with spooky hand gestures.

Hastily gathering up the few possessions he kept at the store in his somewhat pudgy hands, he suddenly spun to face Peridot.

"One final reminder! I'll be out of contact for two weeks at this Super-Top-Secret meeting of like minds!" 

He closed his eyes and Peridot could almost see a single tear well up behind one. 

"It's up to you to manage the store while I'm gone, Peridot, my loyal protege! I know you're up to the task and I wish you luck in my abscence!" 

Almost.

"Yeah, yeah." 

The five foot four and three quarters blonde waved him off as the door bell chimed at being opened. 

"Just try not to get stuffed in a body bag for knowing too much, you clod."

Ronaldo presented Peridot with a solemn salute. 

"If I meet my end due to a surplus of knowledge then I'll perish without regrets! Farewell!!!"

With that, the eccentric owner of "Beach City's Strange and Marvelous Antiques!!!" vanished into the rapidly spreading night. Peridot let loose a sigh of relief. As good a friend Ronaldo could be, his enthusiasm could be a little... grating. Knowing that she'd have not only all of the store's working hours to herself, BUT finally have some peace and quiet to go along with them for two weeks was a blessing. A blessing she intended to enjoy to the fullest. A blessing that came with some extra cash.

After an uneventful final two hours on the clock, it was time to head home. Humming the theme to a video game boss she'd beaten the other night, Peridot began closing up the store for the night. Locking the front doors, she moved to wipe down the main counter where the cash register stood and noticed the odd stone from before laying next to it. Wait, where did that book go...?

She realized that Ronaldo must have taken the leather tome with him in his rush to catch his bus. Not that it was against the rules or anything. Once a transaction was complete, Ronaldo technically owned every item in the store. It wasn't unusual for him to pick and choose choice stuff from the wide array of doo-dads and knicknacks laying around.

Still humming softly, Peridot picked up the stone with the intention to slap a price tag on it before depositing it on a display shelf. However, as soon as she felt the cool surface come into contact with her pale skin, a tiny lance of pain shot through her arm.

"Ow! What the...!" 

Her hand jerked back to her chest as she nursed a small cut on her index finger. The cut was shallow, but angrily throbbed like an insect sting.

As she carefully sucked on her wound, an odd thing happened. Suddenly she felt... warm. No, not just warm, she felt HOT! Sweat beaded across her brow and Peridot could swear she saw steam rising up in front of her face. As she wiped the sweat with the crook of her arm, she saw an odd light coming from the countertop. The stone from before was letting off a bright orange glow. It pulsed, beating in time to the command of an invisible maestro. As Peridot's emerald eyes stared, she suddenly realized what the light was beating in harmony with. The ebb and flow of the orange light was mimicking the beating of her heart. Just as she formulated a thought about how impossible that was, shadows began dancing on the corners of her vision.

Her legs gave out and she slid to the floor, her back resting against a glass display window housing small timepieces supposedly owned by time travelers from other planets. Breathing became more difficult, each intake of air felt like lava in her lungs. Even the exhale was on par with what she imagined a fire breathing circus performer must feel during a performance.

What's going on? Am I sick?

Thoughts slipped from her mind's grasp and soon her consciousness followed. The inky blackness swallowing her sight poured into her brain and then there was nothing. Nothing but the silent chirping of summer insects outside and the steady pulse of the orange stone on the counter. Each flash of light brighter than the last and still perfectly in synch with the now passed out Temporary Owner of Beach City's Strange and Marvelous Antiques.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"...Hey!"

A voice...?

Someone was calling to her.

Mom...?

"WAKE UP!"

A forceful shout knocked any remnant of drowsiness from Peridot's body. Suddenly sitting up straight caused the back of her head to collide with the display case she'd been leaning against while she'd been out cold.

"Ow!" 

Damn, that smarts!

"Finally! Here I was, thinking that you'd gone and died on me before I even got to know your name." 

A deep, smokey voice pried Peridot's attention away from the bump swiftly forming underneath her blonde hair.

The first thought that sprung to her brain was that there couldn't be another person in the store, she'd already locked up! Rubbing the fading stars from her eyes, Peridot looked up to see an absolute beast of a woman looming over her with one arm resting against the register counter. Even slouched as she was, Peridot could tell the stranger was at least six and half feet tall, maybe seven. With pale, almost white hair pouring down her shoulders, looking more like a lion's mane than any hair style Peridot had ever seen. She was covered in red tattoos of some sort. As Peridot tried to peer closer at the streaks that cut swathes through the woman's russet skin, she noticed something out of place on the intruder's head. Parting that light hair were... two curved horns!?

"What the hell are you?!" 

Panic swept across her body like a tidal wave, fear overriding any further rational thinking. She scooted backwards to avoid being potentially eaten by whatever this THING was and bashed her head against the display case. AGAIN.

The second impact was much, MUCH more painful than the first since she'd somehow managed to ram her skull into one of the display case's corners. Tears gathered at the corners of Peridot's eyes and she stifled a scream of agony. The woman (if that's what she really was) was quick to kneel at Peridot's side, placing one hand against her cheek and the other on the now incredibly tender goose egg rising on her scalp. The throbbing agony shrouding her vision began to slip away, replaced with a downy warmth. Peridot noticed that the monster-woman's hands were soft, with thick, blunt fingers lacking any sort of nail.

"Sheesh, talk about being accident prone." 

The mystery woman was so close now that the rumble of her words tickled Peridot's rib cage. 

"There, you should be fine now."

The woman stood once more and stepped back, giving Peridot some much needed breathing room. She raised a slightly shaky hand to gingerly prod at the now smooth patch of skull she'd managed to bash two times in short succession. The only thing she felt there now was her hair, skin and that lingering heat from the woman's hand.

"So, are you gonna calm down and stop trying to crack your head open like an egg?" 

An edge of sarcasm slid into the stranger's voice.

Peridot took a moment to compose herself, closing her eyes and breathing in through her nose for 6 seconds. She held that breath for a bit and then slowly exhaled, making sure it lasted close to seven seconds. She repeated this until her pulse slowed to a level that allowed her brain to start working again.

"...What ARE you?" 

Hearing her own somewhat high pitched voice again after the odd woman's velvet tones almost made Peridot wince.

"Me?" 

Both hands coming to her (now that Peridot took another look at her) hefty chest, the woman let out a hearty chuckle. 

"I'm Jasper." 

Putting one hand to her (once again, further observation noted) shapely hip, Jasper pointed her free hand at the still sitting blonde. 

"Now, who are YOU?"

A gulp served as the initial answer until Peridot's mouth remembered to move. 

"My n-name's P-Peridot."

"Hmmm..... Peridot...." 

Hearing her name come from this predatory woman made it sound more like a type of food. Or the designation of prey.

"Well, Peridot." 

Jasper extended one large hand downwards. 

"Now that introductions are out of the way, where do you keep the food? I haven't eaten in quite some time and I'm feeling more than a little... hungry." 

Both of Jasper's eyes flattened into slits as she enunciated the last word.

The hair on Peridot's neck stood tall, fear once more finding a home in the Temporary Owner's chest.

I wish I'd sprung for life insurance when I had the chance... Then again, I doubt there's any sizeable coverage for "Swallowed Whole By Horned Monster".

"Uh, w-what kind of food d-did you have in mind?" 

Peridot's teeth doing their best not to chop of her tongue despite their terrified chattering.

The giant monster-like lady paused in thought, head tilted to the side as she weighed her invisible options. Jasper's offered hand retreated to cup it's owner's chin.

"Well, I've always wanted to try... What was it called again?" 

Her (fear was really sharpening Peridot's observation skills) golden-yellow, cat like eyes closed in tense concentration.

"Right! Peeb-Za! Preferrably the kind with plenty of meat." 

A proud smile flashed across Jasper's features as if she expected praise for her ability to remember the food's name.

The gears desperately turning in Peridot's head ground to a screeching halt.

"...Excuse me?"


	2. Repaying A Debt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot makes a startling discovery about the monstrous Jasper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I dunno what it is, but the second chapter of any story is always the hardest for me to finish. Like I said though, this is meant to be a fun way of working through a creative block. So! I'M SORRY IF THIS ISN'T VERY HIGH QUALITY OR THERE'S A LOT OF PLOT HOLES AND SUCH. As always, I hope you enjoy it all the same! Don't be afraid to let me hear your thoughts in the comments, I live off feedback of any kind!

Peridot, the Temporary Owner of "Beach City's Strange and Marvelous Antiques!!!", sat on the floor with her mouth open. The tall and menacing figure looming over her had just short circuited the small blonde's brain.

("Peeb-Za"? Did she mean "pizza"? Wait, how would some sort of giant monster woman know anything about pizza? That sounds stupid enough to be something Ronaldo would make up! Wait a second...)

Suddenly it all made sense. Sure, Peridot had been scared of the stranger before, but now she was starting to feel more angry than afraid. After all, how could an otherworldly creature know anything about pizza?! She must've hit her head harder than she thought if any of that had seemed believable in the first place!

"Very funny! The jokes over now, I'm sure you'll laugh about this for weeks!" Peridot shouted at the back of the store. "Quite the elaborate set-up, Ronaldo! You really went out of your way to dress this woman up just to scare me!" 

Peridot was livid. After a perceived near death experience, she was not about to let her friend off the hook. As soon as he showed his dumb face, she was going to introduce it to her fist. Both of them. Multiple times!

As Peridot began moving around the store trying to locate her boss, she eventually threw open the door to their equivalent of a janitor's closet. The Temporary Owner fully expected to find Ronaldo crouched in a corner with recording equipment of some kind, stifling laughter at his own comedic genius.

Instead, she was greeted by the sight of their meager collection of cleaning supplies, complete with a mop lacking a bucket of any sort. Grumbling angrily to herself, she stomped back to the front of the store to confront "Jasper". (If that WAS her real name)

What she found only served to justify her theory. "Jasper" had apparently realized the jig was up and removed her costume. The tall (now that Peridot really looked, the dark skinned girl was maybe only a little over 6 feet tall) woman was now wearing a red sweatshirt, with athletic shorts covering her powerful thighs. A pair of black sandals loosely clung to her feet. Horns no longer jutted from her forehead and her fingers ended in perfectly normal fingernails (they must have just been cheap props from a costume store or something).

As she caught sigh of Peridot, she raised a hand in greeting. "Looks like you found me out."

Peridot's face was still steaming with soon to be verbalized fury. She strode right up the other woman and stood on tip toes, barely changing the height difference between Peridot's green eyes and "Jasper's" (it must have been a trick of the light, nobody has yellow eyes) dark brown spheres.

"So, you admit to being a part of Ronaldo's scheme! Who even are you anyways, for real?!" Her voice almost cracking with repressed emotion.

"Jasper" swept some loose strands of hair from her (the tattoos weren't part of the costume though, she still had them all over) face and shrugged her shoulders. "I couldn't help it, he insisted."

Jasper deep voice still caused the Temporary Owner to shiver when they were in such close proximity. "My name really is Jasper though, I couldn't come up with a good monster name."

Peridot was about to blow her top at how ludicrous this whole situation was, but Jasper cut her off. "Ronaldo isn't here by the way, he's already on the bus to "The Convention"." Jasper even imitated her boss' habit of using hand gestures along with the gathering's name. "Look, I didn't mean to scare you so badly, but you have to admit it WAS pretty funny. Anyways, I'm a friend of his from out of town."

As the blonde recalled the amount of embarrassing things she'd done while under the assumption that a monstrous intruder was about to devour her, the blush on her face deepened. "So, what? Ronaldo convinced you to come all the way out here just to scare me half to death?"

Jasper half-smiled at the shorter girl's pouting grumbles. "No, I'm actually here because I had some trouble back home." Jasper's voice took on a somber tone. "He said you'd be able to help me out while I waited for things to calm down."

"If he was so sure I'd be able to help, then why didn't he tell me about you before he left?" Peridot was not about to just a total stranger into her home!

Jasper could only cock an eyebrow at the Temporary Owner. "You're his friend too, you know how he forgets anything that isn't stapled to his face." Peridot couldn't argue that point, Jasper sounded like she knew Ronaldo as well as she did.

Regardless, the Temporary Manager was still about to sharply decline such an outlandish request. Sure, her shared apartment had a guest room (She still had no idea why it's not like it ever got any real use and telling Ronaldo about it had only led to numerous requests to spend the night discussing possible cryptid sightings), but why did her boss think she was going to help out a friend of his that she'd never met?!

Right in line with Peridot's internal dialogue, Jasper spoke. "He said it would make you two even after your little mishap with his computer."

Peridot's formulated refusal died on her lips at the mention of her most recent attempt to overclock Ronaldo's desktop. How could she have been expected to know that certain parts of his rig had been made with cheap parts that melted under higher than average temperatures! He'd held it over her head like a guillotine for almost a month so far, using it as an excuse to get away with giving her extra work. The prospect of finally putting that debt behind her was too much for the blonde to ignore.

"...Alright, you can stay at my place for now." The idea of letting a stranger stay in her home was distasteful, but putting up with it until Ronaldo returned was certainly tolerable. "But! As soon as that clod gets back, you're his problem again, got it?!"

Jasper laughed as the angry little slice of pie jabbed a finger in the air towards her face. "Deal." The larger woman put a hand on her hip. "Can we still get some food though? I only broke character earlier because I'm actually close to starvation."

Peridot rolled her eyes, she was about to say that people who break into businesses and act like they're going to eat the employees don't get to demand meals, but she was interrupted by the sound of her own stomach growling. Fearing for one's life sure could build an appetite.

Glowering from behind a still reddened visage, the Temporary Owner gave in for the second time that night. "Fine, we'll get some of your precious "Peeb-Za"..."

With a helping hand from Jasper, the store was fully closed at last. Peridot locked the back door and started for the nearest pizza place with Jasper in tow. After so much excitement and subsequent anger, she'd completely forgotten about the strange stone, the light she'd seen or the absence of any mark from her bump to the noggin. Like a shadow at sunrise, those memories had simply slunk into dark corners of her mind. Almost as if they'd been hidden on purpose. Hidden by someone who didn't think their owner could handle them just yet...

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The door to Fish Stew Pizza opened easily, despite the hinges giving out a loud creak. Stepping inside, the Jasper and Peridot were met with bright lights, cool air and the heavy aroma of cooked crust. Lounging by the counter was a familiar face.

"Oh, hey Peri!" Jenny Pizza glanced up from her phone as the door opened, her face already forming a friendly smile.

"Good evening, Jenny" Peridot shuffled to the side, allowing Jasper to stand side by side with her.

"Oh, who's the tall drink of water? Is she the reason why you're out so late?"

Peridot gave a puzzled glance at Jasper, before she understood what Jenny was implying. However, before Peridot could try and explain, Jasper stepped in.

"The name's Jasper. I'm from out of town and Peridot's been showing me around." A warm smile cemented Jasper's story.

Jenny held out her hand to shake, a gesture Jasper was quick to reciprocate. "Well, it's good to see Peridot makin' some new friends. Where are you visiting from?"

A slight pause was the only indication that Jasper had to think about her answer. "It's a pretty small place, I doubt you've heard of it."

Peridot braced herself for the inevitable follow up questions, sure that Jenny wouldn't be content to just leave things be. She DID love to gossip, after all. To Peridot's surprise, the raven haired Pizza sister merely nodded in understanding.

"True, geography always was my worst subject anyways."

Amazed at how smoothly everything was going, Peridot didn't notice Jenny calling her name.

"Uh, what?" The blonde's face tinged with red as she realized she'd been ignoring the other girl.

"I was just asking if you guys came in here to chat or if you wanted something to eat. It'd be a shame if this 24 hour summer store promotion didn't attract SOME customers." Jenny hardly seemed to mind Peridot's inadvertent cold shoulder.

Peridot answered almost too quickly. "Yeah, I don't think Jasper's had pizza before, so I wanted to introduce her to it." 

Jenny's mouth opened in shock. "You've never had pizza before?! Your hometown must not have much goin' on, huh?"

Jasper smirked. "You don't know the half of it."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Before too long, Jasper and Peridot walked out of Fish Stew Pizza with full bellies and big grins. Peridot's previously grumpy facade had all but dissolved in the face of her personal favorite, the Literally-Everything-Pizza. Nothing could beat shoving over 10 different toppings on at once, as far as she was concerned. Jasper had taken a real shine to the crusted delicacy, despite Jenny's insistence that plain pepperoni was the only real way to enjoy pizza. Jenny had only let them leave with the promise of bringing Jasper back again to try some "real" pizza soon.

Peridot hadn't bothered to drive to work that day since it was so close to her apartment, so the pair slowly made their way through the warm summer night on foot as Peridot tried to figure out a way to fit her new "roommate" into her daily routine for the next two weeks.

"You really don't have any other luggage besides what you're wearing?" Peridot's skeptical attitude didn't faze her companion.

"I had to leave in a hurry, so I wasn't able to take anything else." Jasper's voice didn't betray any hint of emotion tied to the events that had left her without a place to call home.

Their late night pizza dinner had given Peridot time to ask a few important questions of her new charge.

Did you bring anything else with you? No.

Do you have any money? All of it went to the bus ticket that brought her here.

Where are you from? It wasn't important.

Where did you get that costume? Ronaldo had prepared it ahead of time for her.

What's with all the tattoos? It was just something she'd always wanted to do.

"Well, you can't just walk around for two weeks wearing the same thing!" Throwing her arms in the air out of frustration, the blonde knitted her eyebrows together in thought. "Augh! I'll check and see if we can borrow some clothes for you. Ronaldo is going to owe ME by the time he gets back!"

Jasper's face broke into an amused grin that made something inside Peridot flutter (Now that she wasn't in absolute terror of this girl, she WAS very attractive...). The blonde quickly averted her eyes and suddenly they were at her apartment. Going inside, the pair rode the elevator up to the third floor. Unlocking the door to Peridot's home made a satisfying *click*.

Peridot opened the door and flicked the lights on, knowing full well that Amethyst wasn't home due to the distinct lack of a couch occupant and the silent television. Dropping her backpack on the floor, Peridot gestured Jasper inside.

"This place is pretty nice. Much better than what I'm used to." Jasper was clearly impressed by the modestly furnished apartment.

"It's alright, I suppose.We only get such a good deal on it because Amethyst is best friends with the landlady." Making her way to the guest room, Peridot showed Jasper where she'd be sleeping, as well as the location of the kitchen and the sole bathroom.

The tattooed amazon flopped down on the guest bed, causing the mattress to shake with her weight. As Jasper enjoyed bouncing on the springs, Peridot scoured the other rooms for spare bed sheets. Eventually locating one of her many UFO themed sets, she awkwardly brought them back to the guest room.

"H-here. I'm sorry they're not exactly stylish, but it's all we've got on hand." She shyly handed them off before excusing herself from the room.

"Hey, Peridot?" A rich voice, on par with melting chocolate echoed from inside the room.

The girl in question stuck her head back through the doorway. "What is it?"

"Thanks, for all of this." The wide smile that met Peridot's curious gaze was almost too much for the diminutive blonde to handle.

"D-don't mention it... Just, try not to scare my roommate in the morning and let me know if you need anything, alright?"

The temporary addition to Peridot's home gave a confident thumbs up in response. Reassured that her guest was settled in for the time being, Peridot scurried to her own room. Locking the door behind her, she stripped off her clothes and just fell into bed with only her alien underwear on. She grabbed her phone and composed a short text to send to her real roommate.

"Amethyst,  
I've got a friend staying over in the guest room for the next two weeks. Hope you don't mind, but I owed them a favor. Don't freak out if you see her before I wake up. She's kind of huge.  
-Peridot"

Her message sent, Peridot set her phone down on her nightstand. Turning over, she let her eyes fall shut. Even though her thoughts were a blur, her brain was too worn out to keep churning through recent events. Sleep was quick to greet her and she welcomed the reprieve from her crazy night. She'd worry about the details in the morning.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ocean beat gently against Beach City's shore. The water was dotted with stars from a reflected night sky. A whisper-like breeze was the only sound to be heard. If anyone had been awake to see it, tranquil would be the only word to describe it... 

Then, something opened it's eyes.

aWAke

FOUnD yoU

fOund

YoU

Countless limbs began reaching out to grab hold of the ocean floor. Dragging itself forwards, crawling on a belly full of yellow darkness. A chittering mouth moved soundlessly, gnashing teeth in an excited frenzy.  
The inky water was devoid of color, not that It could care. A single image was all It could focus on. Somewhere, on the surface, a bright flame had begun to burn. Even as far away as It was, the light was almost too bright for It to look at. 

TOo sLOw

MUst

faStER

The scattered bits of thought joined together and It's body responded. Shadowy limbs coiled together into a tail that slowly drifted behind It. Then, It undulated the new appendage like a great serpent. Soon. It would find that flame soon. That orange flame.


	3. A Painful Reminder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast gets eaten and Peridot runs into an old "friend".

There was nothing all around her. Try as she might, her hands only touched nothing. If she was trapped in here, alone and without bars to so much as define her prison, then why? Why did this pressure threaten to crush her heart into a pebble not even worth remembering? Why did she feel such sorrow?

Then, the first sound came. Distant at first, but more followed. How long were the gaps between them? Sometimes it only felt like a moment. Others seemed to be lifetimes apart. She grew to cherish the sounds and the colors that followed them.

A bright blue and a happy whistle to calm the restless fear gnawing at her bones.

A spiteful red, coupled with dark, stained pictures of faces without eyes.

Soft pink melodies gently flowing across her, the language of love she would never know.

The words never made sense, she could no better understand their meaning than she could remember who she was or where she came from. There were scarce few things she knew. Whenever the sounds vanished and the memory of their colors dried up, she would busy herself listing them over and over again.

Her name. She had always known the word used to denote herself. Even if she didn’t know who had given it to her or if it really was her name at all. She didn’t care. Having the chance to be something, instead of the nothing she drowned in was enough.

She was waiting for someone. How did she know that…? As strong as the feeling behind that truth was, she couldn’t shake the feeling there was more to it than she could recall. Vital bits of data had been peeled away by something, leaving her with only its skeleton. Who was it? Were they waiting for her too?

She had to protect them. This mystery individual she was so sure existed, somewhere beyond the void, needed her. They would be in danger, they would be threatened by something. Something that she would fight and defeat. 

Recalling that fact was the most worrying of all. It served as a constant reminder that she might be too late. What if they had already been swallowed up by the thing she was supposed to defend them from?

That was where she usually stopped thinking. Her anxiety over not knowing about herself or what was happening would crash through her like waves beating against a rocky shore. Slowly wearing down the sturdy surface until there was only a polished husk left behind. If she did ever meet her special person, would she even be able to help them? Or would she go insane from the isolation first?

That’s when another sound appeared. Then, the colors. It was different this time though, instead of fading into echoes and gray smears, they grew more intense. A warmth unlike any before it engulfed her, opening her eyes to a light that had lay just outside her grasp for so long. 

That’s when she saw her. Small and vibrant. Life radiating from every inch of her petite frame. She was asleep, so she reached out carefully to finally find out who she’d been waiting to meet for so long…

 

Peridot awoke with eyes full of tears, but by then she couldn’t remember why she’d been crying. Slowly scanning the space around her, she gradually returned to reality and pulled herself from the dream. She was in her room. She wasn’t trapped anywhere. Had she been having a nightmare?

Grumbling to herself, she slid out of bed and felt each of her knees pop as she roughly worked out the stiffness in her joints. A delicious small wafted in from somewhere outside her room. If Amethyst was the one cooking breakfast, then it was sure to be something slathered with syrup and wrapped tight in bacon. Just the way they both liked it. As Peridot’s mouth began watering at the thought of food, a loud crash came from outside her door. Followed by screams.

A blonde blur flew into the kitchen and common area of the apartment to find-! Her roommate, Amethyst, holding down Jasper in a vicious headlock.

“Alright, uncle! Uncle!” Jasper’s normally powerful voice had been reduced to a choked wheeze.

A heartbeat later, the larger girl was released from the grip of Peridot’s small, Latina roommate. Bouncing up to her feet, the tanned short stack pumped both arms in the air with gusto.

“Yeeeeaaaaahhhh! Never try and challenge the champ!”

Peridot stood in her doorway, unsure exactly what she was looking at. As if on queue, Amethyst turned to see she now had an audience.

“Yo, P! You enjoy the show?” Her cocky grin infectious as always.

“I, uh, only came out here because it sounded like there was an earthquake!” Peridot crossed both arms in front of her, far from done scolding her best friend. “The last time you wrestled in here you almost started a fire from knocking things over!”

As she continued ranting about the foolish behavior of the apartment’s other occupants, Peridot got the strange feeling she wasn’t being listened to. Amethyst had both hands covering her mouth, trying to hold back snorting laughter and failing miserably. Jasper, on the other hand, had swiftly turned her head to stare at the wall directly to her left. The diminutive UFO lover raised her arms to the ceiling.

“Are you two even listening to me?!”

Amethyst couldn’t hold it in any longer and let loose a flurry of howling laughter while Jasper tried to hide the barely present blush on her dark features. It was then that Peridot noticed how… chilly her chest felt. Slowly bringing her eyes down to look at her own body, she realized she’d completely forgotten to put any clothes on before rushing out of her room! She was wearing exactly what she’d fallen asleep in: her underwear and nothing else.

Quickly covering her chest, her green eyes wide with shock, she turned heel and retreated into her room. As the door shut, Amethyst couldn’t resist firing a parting shot. “Congratulations Peri! You’ve finally graduated from washboard to kinda noticeable!” More laughter followed suite.

Peridot hurriedly dressed herself in her usual outfit of a t-shirt, shorts, green knee socks and only managed 30 seconds of fussing with her hair before giving up on it. As she walked back into the kitchen, she took a seat at their small table while Amethyst passed around plates piled high with breakfast foods.

“Breakfast is served!” Glancing at the clock, Peridot’s raven haired friend scratched her head. “Well, it’s technically lunch at this point, but I’ve never been a stickler for names.”

All three women dug into the impressive spread of eggs (scrambled, just the way Peridot liked them), toast (wheat, lightly toasted), bacon (with some of the grease from the pan still covering it), apples (sliced into easily handled pieces), and orange juice (with absolutely zero pulp). Amethyst knew her all too well.

As they finally finished gathering up every last crumb in front of them, Amethyst let out a massive belch. Jasper looked on in shock, amazed such an impressive sound could come from such a small person. A wink was fired at the taller girl, as if burping so loudly was something to be proud of. Peridot carefully wiped her mouth clean of any stains before turning to her best friend.

“I see that you and Jasper have already become acquainted, if that horseplay is anything to go by.”

“Yeah, yeah. She already gave me the low down. Sucks that Ronaldo happens to be outta town right when she got here though.”

“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have been able to almost break my spine.” Jasper massaged her neck as she recalled the speed in which Amethyst had pinned her.

Amethyst was quick to jump out of her chair in excitement. “Did you see how I got her into the unbreakable Knuckle Noose?! You said she was huge, but I didn’t think you meant THIS huge!” Wild flailing at Jasper’s impressive form accompanied her yelling.

Jasper spoke up at the mention of her size. “I’m pretty surprised, I didn’t think someone so small would be able to hold me down like that.”

After Jasper had woken up, Amethyst had been watching tv on the couch. The two had exchanged pleasantries with Amethyst explaining that Peridot had already given her a heads up about their guest and Jasper sharing her reasons for staying. To her credit, Amethyst had elected not to pry, instead suggesting that Jasper go a round with her after seeing exactly how big she really was. Scoffing at the idea of such a smaller person taking her down, Jasper had readily accepted the challenge. To her, now obvious, regret.

Amethyst wasted no time winding up her practiced bragging skills. “I’ve gotten lots of practice takin’ on bigger guys in the ring. Ya don’t try and tussle with me unless you wanna lose!” The chair became a stepping stool for Amethyst to raise herself up alongside her rapidly inflating ego. “The people of the Beach City Wrestling Federation don’t call me the Purple Puma for nothin’!”

 

Peridot could only shake her head in exasperation. How many times had she been forced to listen to this? If the blonde had to put a number to it, it’d be somewhere close to a thousand by now. Maybe ten thousand. As she did her best to ignore Amethyst’s recent accomplishments in the ring, she instead started picking up all the dishes and depositing them in the sink. She’d wash them later tonight, not like the plates were going anywhere.

Turning back to the others, Peridot noticed Jasper ignoring Amethyst and staring directly at her. As the larger woman realized she’d been caught, she lowered her gaze immediately and tried to pretend like she’d been invested in Amethyst’s story about dropping a big elbow onto a wrestler literally twice her size last week. 

(Why would she be staring at you? She was probably just observing some aspect of the apartment and you happened to look at the wrong time. Stop being ridiculous.)

“Alright! I gotta head to the warehouse and get things ready. There’s gonna be a ladder match tonight.” Amethyst had wrapped up her exploits and stood, stretching out after sittin with so much food stuffed in her belly. “I probably won’t be back until late again, but I trust the two of you to stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”

A pair of green eyes rolled in response. “Right. Because you’ve always been the responsible one around here...”

A tongue poked out to blow a raspberry at the blonde’s sarcasm, but this was the norm for the two of them. Amethyst would always act like she was the big sister and Peridot would put up with it, never really letting the Latina forget how many times she’d bailed her out of trouble before.

Jasper remained silent during the whole exchange, content to merely watch two long time friends who were clearly so comfortable around one another. There was something to the natural flow of things between them that she felt herself growing envious of. Would someone ever feel like that around her?

“Well, since you’ll be busy all day, I suppose that means it’s my job to help our guest find additional clothing.” Peridot grabbed her keys and wallet from her room, shoving the latter into her back pocket. “Come on, Jasper, let’s get this over with.”

Jasper deftly stood before pushing her chair in. She was almost past the table when she stopped and then made sure to push in all the other chairs before making her way over to the door. Seeing Peridot’s confused expression, she sheepishly grinned. “I thought it would look nicer if they were all put back the way they were before. You know, together.”

 

About three hours later, Jasper and Peridot were on their way back to Peridot’s car. The green cube shaped vehicle sat waiting for them to load up the spoils of the day’s search. They’d been forced to stop by both a Salvation Army and a Goodwill before they’d been able to find enough clothes in Jasper’s size. It wasn’t that she was too tall, but more that they found very little she could wear without ripping upon moving. Peridot had already made more than a few comments about how ill prepared these places were to accommodate female body builders.

“I’m sorry this took longer than you thought it would...” Jasper had four days worth of clothes stacked in her arms while she walked side by side with her blonde companion.

“It’s fine, just do your best not to shred these since I doubt we’ll be able to find anymore suited for your… particular physique.” 

She took care choosing her words. The last thing Peridot wanted was to give Jasper any clues about how difficult it was NOT to stare at her body. While the russet skinned, strong woman tried on different shirts and pants, Peridot had been doing her best not to drool. Sure, she’d seen other physically fit women before, but none of them held a candle to Jasper. Every tiny movement was followed by defined shifts in her musculature, ripples of power barely hidden underneath an otherwise soft looking frame. Where a bystander might see a large girl with more than a little meat on her bones, Peridot saw the equivalent of a grizzly bear, ready to tear any and everything apart.

To say the idea of such a soft spoken person emitting such a dangerous aura made Peridot feel… a certain way would be putting it mildly. The longer she spent with Jasper the harder it got to shake these momentary fantasies from her mind. 

(She’s only here because she has nowhere else to go. Besides, there’s an almost a 100% chance that you’re not her type anyways! Not to mention, what would you even do if she WAS interested? You know how the last time went…)

The sudden appearance of Peridot’s car in front of her broke the blonde girl out of her reverie. She really needed to stop having these internal dialogues with herself, it couldn’t be good for her mental health.

Popping the trunk with a press of her car keys, the two women dropped the collected clothing inside. Jasper was in the middle of pulling the trunk back down, when a voice called out from across the street.

“Hey, is that you Peridot?”

The girl in question froze at the sound of the voice using her name. Jasper might have no clue who it was, but she most certainly did.

“Hello, Kevin...”

Peridot greeted the new arrival as he finished crossing the street, joining them next to the green car.

“Haven’t seen you around in a while. Not going out much these days?” There was something slimy about the way this guy spoke that Jasper immediately decided she did not like.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Peridot had both hands in her pockets, furiously wishing there was a hole somewhere she could hide in. 

(Oh all people, why him? Why now?)

“You know, the rest of the crew misses you. Beryl’s been asking about you non-stop lately.” A flick of his wrist sent Kevin’s luxurious hair flowing across his head. He’d practiced that trick more than anyone would ever know.

Jasper saw Peridot’s face lose a shade of color, her jaw tightening into an uncomfortable smile. As she watched, the blonde’s left eye twitched ever so slightly as her shaky response came out. “I bet.”

“Yeah, we’re all wondering when you’ll stop being such a stranger Peri. Just because you two-”

Peridot knew where this was going. She knew exactly what Kevin (The piece of shit dumpster dwelling scumbag) was going to say next. Her head started pounding, a drum beat without purpose. All it did was remind her that the words to come would still hurt as much as they did four months ago.

“-aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean we can’t all still be friends.”

Of course. A small part of her had hoped, totally beyond reason, that maybe he would leave well enough alone for once. That’d been blissfully wishful thinking. Warmth built up at the corners of her eyes, her breathing unsteady to match. 

(I can’t let him see me break down. I can’t let Jasper see me lose control like this.) 

Kevin smiled at her with all the innocence of a hyena that’d just torn out her throat. The feelings flooding through her told her one thing: she wasn’t in control of her body anymore. The gears were in motion, with only one result possible: complete breakdown. The dam was fit to burst, a veritable ocean of repressed pain and doubts ready to overflow at the slightest provocation. Something Kevin was all to happy to provide.

At least, that’s what Peridot thought. Until Jasper stepped between them.

“I don’t know who you are, but you need to leave.” There was no room for debate in her voice. Each word sounded out to avoid any possible misunderstanding. Even a death person would know better than to talk back to her now.

“Uh, have we met?” Kevin remained unfazed by the clearly aggressive body language being displayed. His blue, designer scarf gently flowing in the slight sea breeze.

“No, we haven’t. I think I’d remember meeting a giant, talking rat.”

(Wait, what?) 

Peridot felt her chest loosen, the tears that had only just moments ago threatened to burst out, vanishing. What was Jasper doing? This had nothing to do with her!

“Excuse you, but nobody talks to The Kevin like-”

“Like what?” Jasper crossed both arms in front of her chest as she continued, raising her voice with each word now. “Like someone who goes out of their way to harass people they call “friends”?” 

She took a step towards him, causing Kevin to take a step back. 

“Like someone that knows how to hurt someone and seems to enjoy it?” 

Another step forwards, another step back. 

“Like someone that needs to leave fast before THEY get seriously hurt?”

Kevin’s feet moved too quickly and he tripped over his own custom made boots. Landing on his one of a kind, washed out, but still new jeans, he scrambled to his feet before swiftly power walking away. His chin still held high, despite the indignant glow plastered on his face.

After Jasper was sure he wasn’t going to come back, she walked back over to Peridot.

“Are you okay?”

The blonde could only look up at Jasper’s face. The face of someone she hardly knew, but who had stood up for her. Rubbing her still tender eyes on the back of her hand, the blonde nodded. 

(I still wish she’d never seen me like this though. Seriously, how am I still letting this stuff get to me?)

“Peridot, what was that” Jasper took a breath to hold in all the foul things Kevin brought to mind. “guy talking about, anyways?”

A meek sniffle escaped Peridot before the self control she usually prided herself on kicked back in. 

(No more freaking out and no more almost crying in public.) 

Clearing her throat, Peridot did her best, and failed, to look Jasper in the eyes. 

(How am I meant to maintain eye contact with those things? They’re like jewels, I feel like I’ll get lost in them if I don’t look away.)

“It’s… a long story. I don’t want to bother you with the details.”

Jasper gave her an amused grin. “I already owe you too much, the least I can do is listen. I won’t force you to share though, I can kind of understand what it’s like to have things you don’t want other people to know about.” 

(Why did she look so sad when she said that? Does it have to do with why she left home?)

Peridot mentally weighed her options. Normally she was loathe to share any personal information with people, especially people she didn’t know much about. However, she was also desperate for someone other than Amethyst to weigh in on what had happened. Plus, at this point, it would be sort of rude not to consider Jasper a friend of sorts after what she just did. Eventually Peridot decided that it didn’t matter anymore, she just needed to vent to someone who had absolutely no connection to everything. In a way, Jasper was the perfect person for it.

A heavy sigh signaled she’d made up her mind. “Okay. Since you’re so eager to sit through my life story, I’ll tell you what that slime ball was talking about. On one condition!” The small girl held up a finger to Jasper’s face, it was becoming somewhat of a habit for her.

“You must accompany me to the boardwalk tonight. Consider it my way of saying thanks for… helping me out. I’ll explain everything afterwards, deal?”

Jasper had been wearing a serious expression as Peridot started to open up, but now she was all smiles again. If spending more time with Peridot was the price for being allowed into her life, then she was definitely in a win-win situation.

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a little longer than I intended. I'm sorry if the pacing has been too slow so far, but don't worry! I promise that it's gonna get exciting soon. Trust me, I've got plenty of high octane feels ready and raring to go. Things will get a little heavy next chapter, but it's a trade off. THE ACTION IS ON ITS WAY!


	4. The Arrival: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Jasper enjoy some fun at the boardwalk arcade. A walk along the beach leads to the secret behind "Beryl" being revealed. However, a visitor interrupts things. (Part 1 of 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Man, I'm really in the zone. Pumping out content on the regular. Go me? Anyways, this chapter has some sad stuff in it. If you're not a fan, then just skip to the end for a brief summary.
> 
> P.S.  
> (Everyone who has left a comment or kudos so far, thank you! Knowing that someone enjoyed the story means a lot to me. I hope all of you continue to enjoy it! Love ya<3 )

The ride back to the apartment was filled with silence. Jasper would occasionally make some passing remark about Beach City’s scenic ocean views with Peridot humming an unenthusiastic response. Despite sidestepping a full blown emotional meltdown, the shock of Kevin’s words still clung heavily to her thoughts.

(“Beryl’s been asking about you”)

(“Just because you two aren’t together”)

(Stop. Stop thinking about it. You’re fine. He was lying. If she wanted to talk, then surely she would have done it herself. Right…?)

Arriving home brought Peridot little comfort. She put on her best smile for Jasper as they carried her now ample supply of clothes to the guest room. It wouldn’t have been fair for her to bring down the mood any further just because someone had brought up the past. The blonde told her newfound friend that they’d leave in about two hours, once most of the beach crowd had gone home for the night. After Jasper was situated, Peridot retreated into her room to attempt some decompression before the planned trip to the boardwalk.

(I said that without thinking. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle going out tonight after Kevin’s stunt. Maybe I should tell Jasper we’ll do it some other time?)

Laying on top of her crumpled sheets she played the scene out in her head, already seeing how disappointed Jasper’s face would be. The bigger girl had looked so excited at Peridot’s offer. Coupled with the fact Peridot owed her for scaring Kevin off, the idea of suddenly canceling was out of the question.

(I’ll just toughen up and go through with it. Maybe it’ll be more fun than expected.)

Inwardly frowning at her own inability to properly commit to social plans of any sort, the blonde rolled over and pulled out her phone. A cursory glance told her there were no new messages. Nobody had anything they wanted her to see. Against her better judgment, she even scrolled through her contacts to double check, eventually finding a familiar username. Still nothing, just like every other time she’d checked. Her doubt-filled paranoia satisfied, she stood and walked over to her computer.

While she left Jasper to her own devices for the next two hours, she planned to cool off as much as possible so as not to ruin the remainder of the night. A few clicks later and a playlist of her favorite songs was pulled onto the monitor. The calming soundtracks of childhood games played in the dead of night, underneath warm covers soon poured from her speakers. Instantly, fond memories of simpler times with simpler problems overcame all of the aching pain recent events left her with.

Peridot stood and let her eyes wander around her room, taking in all of the objects she’d slowly filled it with. Figures of all kinds crowded her few dressers and bedside table, posters detailing UFO sightings lined her walls, and more than a few empty cans of her favorite energy drink could be found upright on the floor. As she took in the bits and pieces of herself, something caught her eye. A small plushie of a bird wearing winter clothing stood on the edge of her main dresser. It had been a gift. From her. Grimacing at the feelings seeing it brought on, she slowly opened up the drawer below it and dropped the bird inside. She’d have to deal with not using her other sock drawer, but seeing that thing was definitely not something she needed at the moment. The blonde settled back into her wheeled computer chair again, content to just close her eyes and enjoy the nostalgic tunes for the time being.

Before she knew it, almost three hours had passed and there was a gentle knock on her door. Peridot opened her eyes and sat up. “What is it?”

A soft click preceded the door opening, with Jasper’s tattooed face peeking past it. She looked worried and more than a tad nervous.

“I, uh, was just wondering if you still wanted to go out tonight. I understand if you don’t feel up to it though, it was sort of a busy day...”

(Oh, shit. Now Jasper thought she was being a bother because I hadn’t hidden my potential breakdown earlier well enough. Even though I was the one that invited her out!)

Peridot waved her hands in apology. “No, no! I’m sorry, I just lost track of time!”

Internally cursing her chronically selfish behavior, the little slice of pie stood and straightened her knee socks. Clearing her throat, she gathered up her things and moved over to the door.

“As my way of apologizing for being a less than stellar host, allow me to treat you to some food before our trip to the boardwalk.” Peridot did her best to playfully wink. “After all, Jenny did say you had to try plain pepperoni at least once, right?”

Jasper’s spirits lifted at the mention of pizza and she threw the door open with joy. As the wooden portal moved out of the way, Peridot was finally given a full view of Jasper’s new outfit. A pair of jean shorts that stopped halfway down Jasper’s well toned thighs, a sleeveless yellow top with the words “Beach Hunk” placed boldly on the front, and a long sleeved flannel shirt on top of it. Flannel, one of Peridot’s major weaknesses. Seeing how well all of these makeshift clothes went together on this woman’s body left the blonde speechless. Jasper just wasn’t playing fair.

Suddenly aware that Peridot was staring, Jasper looked down at herself, turning slightly to look for some kind of problem.

“Does it look too small? I’m not used to having so many options...”

Shaking her head free of the multitude of dangerously lewd thoughts Jasper’s new look brought to Peridot’s mind, the shorter girl averted her eyes. “I-It looks good! I mean, you, um, you make it work!”

(Smooth, real smooth. As if she can’t just look at my face and see how unprepared to see such an attractive woman I was. Get it together Peridot, for crying out loud!)

Gesturing for Jasper to move, Peridot led the way to the front door. Jasper slid on the only footwear they’d been able to find for her at the time, a pair of bulky combat boots. Their black surface held a polished sheen, making Peridot think they were somehow still relatively new. After Peridot pulled her green converse onto her feet, they walked out of the apartment building and into the warm summer air. The blonde girl silently promised to do everything she could to NOT ruin this night for herself or Jasper. She’d make this a fun time with her… friend. Thinking about how this mysterious bombshell was now a member of Peridot’s tiny list of formal friends, a fuzzing warmth settled inside her stomach. Despite the rocky nature of their initial meeting, Peridot found it more and more difficult not to be glad they’d met. Jasper pretended not to notice the smile playing across Peridot’s lips as those thoughts took shape.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, pepperoni was pretty good, but it felt a little… boring.”

Jasper had defied all of Jenny’s expectations when the dark skinned pizza lover still preferred Peridot’s personal favorite over the all time classic of plain pepperoni. A brief argument later and Peridot was smugly confident Jenny wouldn’t soon forget who had better taste. The pair were almost at the boardwalk, having driven to Fish Stew Pizza and deciding the go the rest of the way on foot. The night was too nice not to enjoy, after all.

“So, what kind of stuff did you want to do?”

Peridot lazily hummed in thought at Jasper’s question.

“I didn’t have anything particular in mind. What activities did you want to enjoy? After all, tonight is my treat.”

A hand came to Jasper’s chin, holding it in place while she considered her choices. Almost ten steps later and she smiled, apparently pleased with her final decision.

“I want you to show me all the things you like doing. If you don’t mind, I mean.”

Peridot was taken aback by the simple nature of Jasper’s request. She wanted to experience all of the things Peridot enjoyed at the boardwalk? Few other people had every taken much interest in the specific activities Peridot herself preferred. Everyone mainly wanted to go out drinking and blast music from their expensive cars or spend the entire night at a club dancing with people whose names they wouldn’t remember in the morning.

“...Are you sure? I don’t want to bore you.”

Jasper placed a hand on Peridot shoulder, oblivious to the shiver it sent through the smaller girl’s body or the blush furiously making its home on her face.

“If it’s stuff you like, then there’s no way it’s boring! Come on, show me everything!”

Doing her best not to give away the effect of Jasper’s touch, Peridot turned her head to the side.

“Alright, if you insist. Just remember that when I beat you in all the games we play, you brought this on yourself!”

“That’s assuming you win all of them.”

“I’d like to see you even come close to beating me!”

“Challenge accepted!”

Peridot’s embarrassment quickly turned into a fierce drive to prove herself on the fields of virtual combat and the blonde doubled her pace, eager to show Jasper exactly who she was dealing with. The light haired challenger trailed behind, laughing at her friend’s newfound enthusiasm. Now that the gauntlet had been thrown, Peridot wouldn’t stop until they’d played every game she knew at the boardwalk’s arcade. It was going to be a long night!

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“No! You! Don’t!”

Peridot furiously mashed the arcade cabinet’s buttons in a mad attempt to perfect block Jasper’s combo string. This was the last game for the two to play and due to what Peridot could only chalk up to insane luck, Jasper had beaten her at half the other games they’d played thus far. It all came down to Peridot winning the final round in this best of three match in her arguably favorite game: RazeRed: Divided Stagnation.

“Almost there-! Aha! Now I’ve got you!”

After Jasper’s virtual fighter used up the remainder of their super meter, Peridot’s character was free to unleash her finishing move. Timing her motions just right, ignoring how fast her heart raced or how sweaty with excitement her palms had become, she input the final commands. The one eyed monster girl on-screen let out a battle cry before launching herself forwards in a flurry of blades and fangs. When the last blow connected, the screen flashed red and Peridot stood victorious.

ANGELUS WINS! Flashed on the screen to signal the end of a very close final battle. Slumping onto the arcade cabinet, Peridot let out a breath she hadn’t realized she'd been holding. Jasper sighed in frustration, the sound totally at odds with the bright smile she was wearing.

“I thought I had you there. How come you didn’t take any damage at the end?”

The blonde girl rotated her head to look at Jasper without lifting herself up. “It’s called Barrier Blocking. If I attack at the same time you hit me while blocking, it cancels out all of the chip damage you normally take. It took me a long time to get the timing right for all the character’s combos, especially since not many people pick Steel Rager like you did.”

Jasper frowned as she considered her now defeated character before the game reset to the intro, prompting players to insert more coins into the machine.

“I just thought he looked cool. I wanted to play as someone who can really get up close and do some damage. Looks like it still didn’t help me win though.” Laughter reassured Peridot that Jasper still had fun, despite losing.

It then occurred to her that she’d grown increasingly more competitive as the night wore on, making her extremely self-conscious of how try-hard she’d been acting. Every time this happened, the people she played games with got fed up with how she simply despised losing. This attitude led to many hours practicing and honing her skills until there were a scarce few who could even come close to beating her anymore. Then, her old friends had just stopped playing games with her altogether.

Raising her head from the control panel, she fumbled for more quarters. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have gone all out when you haven’t even played this game before. You were doing so well I sort of forgot. Here, I’ll pick a character I don’t usually use and-” 

As she bent down to insert the required coins, she missed the slot and dropped them onto the floor.

Silently swearing, Peridot dropped to her knees to pick up the money. She always did this. Got caught up in her own enjoyment and didn’t give a second thought to the people she was with. Jasper was probably fed up with her already and they’d been having such a good time…

For the second time that day tears began welling up behind Peridot’s emerald eyes and for the second time that day, Jasper managed to dispel them completely.

“Hey, it’s okay. You won, fair and square. I’m just glad I was able to put up a fight at all! You’re really good at everything we’ve played.” A large, tattooed hand came to rest on top of Peridot’s, while she picked up the other coins with her free hand.

Hearing those kind words was enough to remind Peridot why she’d even offered going to the boardwalk in the first place. She’d promised Jasper that she'd tell her about the subject of her conversation with Kevin. Pulling herself together with the help of Jasper’s warmth, she stood and dusted off her knees. She carefully accepted the retrieved quarters and motioned for Jasper to follow her outside.

Stepping back into the fresh nighttime air was a relief on Peridot’s sweaty body. She really needed to get more exercise if just playing a few hours of arcade games was enough to tire her out. The pair walked off the boardwalk and onto the beach where the water caressed the sandy shore with tenderness rivaling a mother’s embrace.

Peridot waited until she was sure they were outside anyone else’s earshot before she stopped and faced Jasper. Her words faltered as the moonlight reflected off the water and lit Jasper up from behind. Her hair was ghostly pale in this lighting and her red markings looked red hot with some kind of flame.

“I told you before that, well, that I’d explain what Kevin was talking about earlier today. Before I do that though, I wanted to tell you something else.” 

A shy cough caused Peridot to bring a hand to her mouth, covering it from her friend’s gaze. 

“...Thank you, for hanging out with me tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I hope you were able to as well.”

The recipient of the thanks positively glowed in response.

“Of course. I’m starting to hope Ronaldo gets delayed coming back, to be honest. I’d kinda prefer… Staying with you longer. It’s been tons of fun and I’m really glad you asked me to come with you.”

Peridot flushed beet red for what seemed to be the hundredth time since Jasper entered her life. It wasn’t entirely out of the question for Jasper to continue staying with her and Amethyst, but that was a matter for another time. Now she needed to focus and see her promise through to the end.

“W-we’ll talk about that later. For now, I still owe you that explanation.” Peridot checked to make sure the sand beneath her wasn’t wet and sat down. Jasper followed suite and they both faced one another, parallel to the shoreline.

“I’ll try and make it as short as I can, but let me know if I start rambling.”

Jasper nodded, her luscious hair bouncing with the motion. Peridot took a deep breath, steadied her thoughts and began from the beginning.

“I met Beryl in high school. There’s a boarding prep school a few hours from here that takes students from all over the world. I got a scholarship, which was the only way I could afford it. That’s where I meet Amethyst, Ronaldo and… Beryl. She and I met during my third year and she was a senior. It’s funny, it was almost right after I got out of my first lesbian relationship, she just came up to me one day and asked if I wanted to date. She was beautiful and I’d seen her a handful of times before, since we had friends and hobbies in common.”

Peridot felt her heart speed up as the memories rushed back. Even though she’d made it a point to push them all to the bottom of her heart, they were still crystal clear.

“That was the first time a girl had ever been the one to initiate anything like that with me, so of course I said yes. Things went really well, even though there were some rough patches. By the time her graduation rolled around, I’d given and taken a lot of first times with her. She was special. I thought many times before I met her that I was in love, but I think she was the only one I really meant it with. Anyways, when she graduated she went to college all the way across the country. Meanwhile, I stayed behind for a number of reasons… She’d told me ahead of time that she planned on breaking things off when she left, since she was still young and long distance wasn’t something she wanted to deal with. I wasn’t happy with it, but I handled it the best I could. I fell into a depression the year that followed, until she showed up for my classes’ graduation. Things hadn’t been going well between us and a lot of hateful things had been said. The night before the ceremony, she texted me and we met up. We… had sex and I told her I still loved her.”

That night refused to fade from her brain. Each touch they shared, every word said, it would haunt her until the day she died. She knew it.

“Ever since then we managed to get over the awkwardness that formed when she left and things were nice again. When she brought up the idea of wanting to try long distance, it was like a dream come true for me. I jumped at the chance to be together with her again, in any way that I could. For a time, it worked out too. I got a job working for Ronaldo after he hit it big with the book he’d been writing in high school and I flew out to visit her at least once a year. She even came here to meet my family and they got along really well. Before I knew it, four years had gone by and I’d already brought up the idea of getting married. Things seemed so concrete, so sure.”

Peridot let her chin rest on her arms, the story taking a darker turn. The closer to the present the memories got, the more her chest ached.

“It started to fall apart in small pieces. We stopped video chatting, then we stopped calling each other, until our communication was through messaging programs only. I feel like such an idiot for not noticing sooner, but we hardly talked much in the last year we were together. Even the visits were like trying to stop a sinking ship with duct tape, looking back on things. Towards the end, I was reaching out to her in an attempt to fix the distance that seemed to have grown between us. That’s when I got the letter.”

A soft sniffle told Jasper that recalling all of this was starting to take its toll on Peridot, the things she’d been holding onto were being laid bare on the ocean sand.

“Normally, I loved getting mail from Beryl. She always knew the right gifts to get me. Every birthday was something I looked forwards to and she’d send cute cards along with the presents. The stuff she wrote in them was usually the best part. She had this habit of, well, messing up American sayings. Her mom was Japanese and she spoke two languages. Even though English was her first, she still sounded like a foreigner from time to time. I remember, she always said “Whatever sinks your ship” instead of “whatever floats your boat”. I made fun of her for it a lot, but I loved seeing that side of her.”

The words came less clearly as Peridot’s nose began to run and her eyes filled with salty liquid.

“Sorry, I got off track… Um, the letter basically said that she wanted to end things. I’ll s-spare you the details, but she wrote about how we’d become different people, how our interests didn’t overlap anymore, we hardly had anything to talk about and how the future she saw herself having with me wasn’t what she wanted anymore...”

Green eyes drowned as the story reached its end.

“I tried to get in touch with her right away, but the time difference meant we didn’t end up talking until the next day. She told me that she’d made up her mind the month before and she wasn’t going to let me change it. I told her… that it was okay. I wasn’t going to try. I realized that i-if this was what she really wanted, t-then it would be selfish to stop her.”

Jasper felt her heart breaking at the sight of Peridot slowly curling herself into a ball as she kept talking.

“We talked f-for a while about why things hadn’t worked and i-it ended with us deciding to still be f-friends. Even t-though she didn’t want to talk f-for a while because… because it was a break up and that’s w-what people do, right?”

Peridot took deep, belly breaths, trying as hard as she could to reign in her tears and regain her composure.

“That was f-four months ago now. I haven’t s-spoken to her once since, even though I wanted t-to. She’s probably m-moved on and is h-happy now. I-I’m sure she i-is and I’m…. I’m….”

The dam finally burst and she wailed into her palms. The fact she’d held on that long was proof of her willpower, but she was still only human.

“I should be happy f-for her! I w-want to be!!! But! But w-why wasn’t it e-enough?!”

Jasper couldn't hold herself back any longer, her body moved on instinct, wrapping the small blonde tightly in her arms. With every sob, Jasper felt Peridot’s frame shake and it was too much for her to bear. She squeezed her eyes shut and resolved to just hold her until the tears stopped flowing.

“W-why isn’t everything I a-am ever e-enough...”

The two of them sat on the beach for a long time. The only sounds being the ocean’s movement and the muffled sorrow against Jasper’s chest. Eventually, Peridot ran out of tears and let her breathing steady itself. Once she was sure that she wasn’t going to relapse, she gently pushed herself away from Jasper’s body.

“Kevin and some other people used to be in a group of friends Beryl and I hung out with. He always envied the fact we were together. I bet he just brought her up to rub it in my face. That...”

“Giant, talking rat?”

Peridot actually laughed at Jasper finishing her thought. It was weak, but the quiet “nyehehehe” was proof enough she was done crying for now.

“Anyways, that’s the short version. Sorry if it ruined the night, I didn’t intend to sour the mood with my sob stories...”

Jasper stood, bits of sand falling of her legs as she held out a hand to Peridot.

“Peridot, I might not know much about everything that happened, but… I know enough about you to know that you’ll be okay. You’re kind, loyal and you just want the people you care about to be happy. Just because Beryl didn’t think that was enough doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find happiness without her.”

As Peridot looked up at Jasper and her outstretched hand, she was reminded of something. The image of looking up at Jasper as she sat on the ground seemed… familiar. Had they done this before? Her brain whirred with the attempt to remember, but a thick fog hung over that particular memory. The sea water kept licking the shoreline during Peridot’s increased effort to recall why Jasper’s offered hand triggered such a sense of deja vu. It grew louder. A buzzing sound joined with the waves, until it was so loud Peridot couldn’t think clearly.

Jasper turned to see why the ocean suddenly sounded more like the snarls of some large beast when a huge shape breached the surface. A single, massive yellow eye stared right at the two of them. It blinked once. Then, a nightmare exploded towards them, a swirling mass of darkness and teeth.

FouND  
yoU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Beryl is Peridot's ex-girlfriend. They ended on fairly good terms, but Peri is still torn up about losing the first long term relationship she ever had. (Four years long) It caused a lot of doubt and emotional damage that she's trying to work through even though it's been four months since the break up. Maybe she'll be able to find someone else who'll stick around this time, hmmmmm????
> 
> (ALSO, I LOVE CLIFF HANGERS. I AM NOT SORRY, BUT YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT FORESHADOWING EARLIER WAS JUST THERE FOR GIGGLES DID YOU?)


	5. The Arrival: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Jasper meet a monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the crazy delay. I've been working through a lot of stuff, if the last chapter wasn't a strong enough indication. I'm starting to get back to my old self, but it's been slow going. I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter! Writing this story has been pretty helpful with coping, so I plan to see this through all the way to the end. Thanks for all the support so far.  
> (It also doesn't help that I've been playing a ton of Overwatch too...)
> 
> Also: ( ) = Peridot's thoughts and [ ] = Jasper's

Foam surged onto the sand as the surf split to birth a nightmare. 

Peridot’s eyes fixated on its shape in horror. At the single, unblinking eye now gazing upon her. Yellow, cold and larger than her entire body. The pitch black iris beckoning a fear so primal it threatened to suffocate her.

Its pupil narrowed into a slit as their eyes met. Arm-like tentacles burst forth from below the Eye’s center, lifting it up on makeshift legs. Each one ending in an almost too human hand, but with an unnatural number of joints.

Then the Eye slowly took a step onto the beach, water running off it in heavy streams. Peridot could see madness in that soulless Eye, but realized it could see her too.

Suddenly, words and images stained with crimson rushed into her head. 

A warning. 

No, a promise of horrors to come.

HUNGER.

MISSION.

DEVOUR.

YOU.

As soon as the thoughts vanished, the one eyed thing scuttled forward on its spidery limbs. Making a beeline right for her.

(I have to run. I have to move. I have to… DO something. ANYTHING!!!)

Despite her logical brain knowing how to react, her body refused to respond. Small, pale hands instead gripping tightly onto each other, skin slick with cold sweat and legs stiff with fear.

(Am I going to die?)

Sand shot out in every direction to make way for the beast’s approach, the buzzing from before growing into a bone rattling cacophony. 

Peridot felt her body shake as the huge thing’s weight drew ever closer, it’s motions appearing in slow motion even though she knew it was actually traveling quite fast.

That was when pair of hands grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her off the ground.

(Jasper!?)

The taller woman carried Peridot bridal style and made a run for the boardwalk. Her feet kicking up sand in unison with the horror still giving chase.

“Peridot, what the hell is that thing?!”

Jasper’s voice was strong enough to be heard over the awful buzzing that still filled the air.

“H-how am I supposed to know?! I’ve never seen anything like that before in my life!”

Peridot was immensely grateful Jasper was in such fantastic shape because she was managing to haul the two of them faster than Peridot ever would’ve been able to move on her own. 

Hope welled up in Peridot’s chest as the thought of reaching the boardwalk and getting help ceased to be a fleeting dream.

They could make it. 

They WOULD make it!

Peridot’s head was facing away from the monster, but her curiosity got the better of her. She peered back, immediately aware of how much closer the eye had grown. 

Its yellow orb wide with anger at being forced to chase them down. Pulsing yellow lights throbbing along the length of its limbs now, coursing from the spot where they all sprouted.

“JASPER, IT’S RIGHT BEHIND US!”

“You think I don’t know that?!”

Jasper pulled out all the stops and dug as deep as she could, sprinting across the beach with Peridot in her arms. Grunting with effort, her breath wheezing and her whole body filling with exhaustion.

Jasper could literally feel the eye’s proximity in her gut, the closer it got the more pain blossomed in her core. 

Simply looking at it earlier had nearly made her pass out in pain.

[Just what in the hell was this thing and why did just being around it HURT?]

Just as they were a few feet from the wooden stairs that would lead them back to the boardwalk, Jasper was suddenly swept off her feet.

“Ooof!”

The beast had finally gotten close enough to grab the tattooed woman’s legs and was now dangling her in the air.

Her grip on Peridot slipped, her hands now clutching at empty air as the other girl slid back towards the ground.

Peridot landed on the beach in a pile, trying to spit out the grains of sand that forced their way into her mouth.

“Let me go you-!”

Jasper’s cries fell on deaf ears as the Eye regarded her closely for a few moments. There was a pause in the buzzing as their gazes met and Jasper swore she could feel it staring into her very soul. 

Its yellow iris burrowing deep into her, searching for some unknown prize.

Pain exploded in every inch of Jasper’s body, the simple act of touching this thing invoking searing agony. As the eye continued to observe her, Jasper felt her vision grow dark as her consciousness faded. 

[No, I have to protect her-! I have to-! To...]

For a brief instant, Jasper’s tattoos seemed to snake along her body and began gathering along her arms, bunching together into solid blocks of color. 

As soon as they did, however, the Eye doubled the number of tentacles holding her in place.

The addition of yet more contact was too much for Jasper to bear. Her struggling grew weaker and weaker, until she went limp in its grasp, her tattoos returning to their original positions. 

Eventually the eye pulsed again in disapproval and threw the unconscious Jasper behind it with a flick of its tendrils. The amazon soundlessly hitting the shore in a rough spray of wet sand.

Then its attention was drawn back to Peridot, who had just managed to recover from her fall.

(Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit-)

A dozen more tentacles blossomed from the Eye’s base, all of them reaching for her with grasping digits. As they stretched out to embrace her, a vertical crack grew along the eyeball’s length. 

Without warning, the buzzing ceased and the Eye slowly opened to reveal an eldritch maw full of butchering fangs. Each silvery tooth gleaming with the promise of bloodshed.

Peridot’s body wouldn’t stop shivering as the images from earlier flashed in front of her eyes.

(It’s going to EAT me...)

Screwing her emerald spheres shut, Peridot held her breath in dreadful anticipation. 

Surely any second those spidery limbs would lift her into the air like a predator gripping struggling prey and then the teeth would do their promised job of tearing her entire body to ragged pieces.

Any moment now her life would end…

As Peridot awaited her demise, a new noise cut through the silence. 

The ocean waves suddenly roared with new life; their cries making it sound like a tsunami was about to hit the beach.

Then, a voice rang out from the sky, clear as a bell.

“You don’t belong here, monster.”

Peridot opened her eyes a crack and saw a shape outlined by moonlight: a silhouette gently hovering in the night sky. 

As she peered closer, she could make out the shape of a person. Although, this “person” appeared to have a pair of wings. Something Peridot was willing to accept as possible, given recent events. One of the figure’s arms was held in front of it, but for what reason Peridot couldn’t say.

The next thing she noticed was the reason for the Eye’s delay in consuming her.

A massive hand, seemingly formed from water, was holding it tight like a fly caught in a net. 

The mystery figure raised it’s other hand from it’s side, an action that brought forth another giant fist of water from the sea below it. With a sweep of it’s hand, the figure reached out and grabbed at the air. The watery hand followed suit, but instead of empty space, it grasped onto the Eye as well.

Peridot was pelted with small drops of saltwater as the Eye thrashed in the hands’ grip; Its tendrils squirming and jet black pupil wildly spinning as it tried to locate the source of this new annoyance.

As she watched, the hands applied more and more pressure. Squeezing until black veins began to bulge on the Eye’s surface, the unearthly lights growing almost too bright to look at. 

Just when Peridot thought it couldn’t take anymore, the Eye popped like a soap bubble.

Wisps of darkness broke off from its center as the hands continued to press on it from all sides. Every tentacle fell to the sand before dissipating in the ocean breeze, their form breaking up into motes of shadow. The yellow lights inside grew dim and the hands refused to relent until they were totally extinguished.

With a soft clap, the hands finally closed in on one another. When they opened, there was just a small, gray sphere left in one watery palm.

The flying figure let their hands fall back to their sides and the water duplicates fell onto the shore, sending seawater surging in all directions.

Peridot’s mind whirled with questions. She wasn’t able to properly form one before the beginning of another made its way to the center of her brain.

As she contemplated the nature of the Eye and how insane the resolution to her situation had turned out to be, something else demanded her attention.

“Jasper!”

Body finally cooperating, Peridot slowly stood on shaking legs. She could see her new friend laying a good fifty feet away on the beach. As her feet did their best to carry her over, a voice spoke up directly above her.

“You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Craning her neck upwards, Peridot realized the speaker was the flying shape from earlier. It turned out it was a... girl? 

A girl with electric blue eyes and raven hair. The wings she’d seen were similar to the massive hand that had crushed the Eye, formed with what she could only guess was more seawater.

“What do you mean? It’s not like I go out of my way to piss off giant ocean-dwelling eyeballs!”

The water winged girl was silent for a moment, apparently not expecting such a sassy answer from someone who'd almost met her maker seconds ago. She landed in front of Peridot, the wings on her back falling onto the sand, just as the hands had.

“I’m not talking about that thing. I’m talking about HER.”

A delicate hand was raised to gesture toward the still motionless Jasper.

“I don’t know what she’s told you, but she’s dangerous. Being around her isn’t safe.”

Peridot was having a hard time processing this additional information. Her head was already aching from the near death experience earlier and now her headache was threatening to evolve into a serious migraine.

“What are you talking about? Jasper’s my friend, how could she be dangerous?”

Anger welled up in Peridot's chest at the thought of someone bad mouthing the woman who had stood up for her when so many others hadn’t.

“And just who are YOU anyways?!”

The girl closed her eyes in thought before speaking.

“It isn’t too late to change how your story will end. She may have already written the first pages, but the ending is still yours to decide. Just know that if you choose to stay with her, you will suffer.”

The wings erupted from the girl’s back again as water was drawn from the wet sand, lifting her a few feet into the air. Her bittersweet voice still carrying over the ocean's whispers.

“Consider this: How did the two of you meet? I can tell that there’s something you can't remember. A memory someone else buried in fear, someone who then used your own memories to weasel their way into your life.”

Peridot’s headache ratcheted up another notch as that sense of nostalgia from before washed over her. There WAS something she forget. Something to do with Jasper... but what was it? 

It was something so small, but she just couldn’t grab hold of the memory no matter how hard she tried. It slipped through her mind's fingers like so many grains of sand.

The blue girl noticed Peridot’s frustration and gave her a sad smile.

“So, you do know that something isn’t quite right. Maybe you should ask her more about it yourself and find the truth. However, know this-”

The smile was replaced with a solemn stare.

“I helped you in order to repay a debt and to keep a promise with a friend.”

The mystery girl’s wing flapped in time with her words, carrying her higher and higher into the inky sky.

“But I won’t always be there to protect you.”

She raised another finger accusingly in Jasper’s direction.

“So if you want to survive then you’ll need to convince her to stop lying to you.”

With that, Peridot’s savior flapped her watery wings and soared back into the sky. Her outline starkly defined as she crossed in front of the moon, before vanishing into the empty horizon.

Dumbfounded, Peridot could only stand in shock as her nose began to run from all of the salt in the air.

It felt like the nightmare was over, but Peridot still hadn’t managed to wake up.

She looked back to Jasper, the person she'd spilled her tears onto. The woman that had listened when Peridot had needed it more than anything... The stranger that might be hiding more than Peridot had ever dared to guess.

(What am I supposed to do now…?)

The uncaring ocean refused to answer, content to just calmly kiss the shore into oblivion. Totally unaware of the normal life that had been shattered in its presence, the pieces sinking to the unlit ocean floor, along with the rest of the world’s forgotten hopes and dreams.

After all, what was one more to the pile?


End file.
